How Islam Saved Western Civilization

In this lecture, Dr. Roy Casagranda pushes back against the false East–West divide and challenges the myth of a “Dark Ages.” He shows how, during a time when Europe struggled, Muslim, Persian, Jewish, and Christian scholars across the Islamic world preserved and expanded the knowledge of Greece, Rome, and Persia.

Through philosophy, science, and translation, these thinkers became the bridge that carried Western civilization forward — from Baghdad’s House of Wisdom to the beginnings of the European Renaissance. This is the story of how collaboration across faiths and cultures kept human knowledge alive.

*note from Roy: At 1:20:45 I say "When Qin the Great unifies India..." I obviously meant China.

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00:00:00 Introduction & The East–West Divide
00:02:35 The Myth of “Western Civilization”
00:09:18 Greece, Rome & the Invention of the West
00:14:45 How the “Dark Ages” Narrative Took Hold
00:19:12 What Europe Lost After Rome’s Fall
00:25:38 Preserving Greek Knowledge in the East
00:32:20 Muslim, Persian & Arab Scholars as Custodians of Civilization
00:40:55 The Translation Movement & Centers of Learning
00:47:28 Jewish and Christian Thinkers in the Islamic World
00:54:42 Baghdad’s House of Wisdom & the Golden Age of Islam
01:00:50 Scientific Advancements: Algebra, Optics & Medicine
01:09:15 How Islamic Scholarship Revived Europe
01:16:20 From Andalusia to the Renaissance
01:23:05 Shared Knowledge & the Continuity of Civilization
01:30:40 Rethinking the Idea of “The West”
01:40:00 Beyond Borders: Civilization as Collaboration
01:52:00 Closing Reflections & Lessons

#HowIslamSavedWesternCivilization #HistoryLecture #MedievalHistory

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